iPad sales may have dropped more than 30% between the holiday quarter and this most recent one, but that didn’t stop Apple from having second-quarter record revenues and earnings.
The iPad decline isn’t totally unexpected, considering the tablet’s popularity as a holiday gift, the looming specter of iPad 2 staving off potential sales, and there not being enough of those same iPad 2s to go around. And at 4.69 million units, it’s not like the division is shriveling. iPhone sales, meanwhile, grew a whopping 113%; Apple rode its Verizon partnership all the way to 18.65 million new handsets in the last three months.
Macs advanced as well, with 3.76 million traditional computers sold—a 28% increase over a year ago. iPods, though, continued their steady decline; 9.02 million is still a huge number, but it’s 19% less than Apple sold this time last year.
It’s easy enough to explain away the relatively low iPad figures; last quarter was a holiday surge, and supplies were constrained around the launch of iPad 2. The real test, though, will be going forward. Does the iPad have enough appeal to be relevant all year round? Or will it be a one-quarter pony that just shows up when you can put it under a tree?
Apple Reports Second Quarter Results
Record March Quarter Drives 83 Percent Revenue Growth, 95 Percent Profit Growth
Record iPhone Sales Grow 113 Percent
CUPERTINO, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 second quarter ended March 26, 2011. The Company posted record second quarter revenue of $24.67 billion and record second quarter net profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $13.50 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.4 percent compared to 41.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
“We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”
Apple sold 3.76 million Macs during the quarter, a 28 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 113 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.02 million iPods during the quarter, representing a 17 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. The Company also sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter.
“With quarterly revenue growth of 83 percent and profit growth of 95 percent, we’re firing on all cylinders,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year.”
“We are extremely pleased with our record March quarter revenue and earnings and cash flow from operations of over $6.2 billion,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.03.”
